Standy requires power button press - normal?

[Guest duncw]

Hi all,

I've just received my San Francisco and followed a guide to install a custom ROM (MoDaCo Custom Rom - r4). I'm finding this forum an excellent resource B)

What I've noticed both before and after updating the ROM is after the phone goes into standby I need to press the power button briefly to wake the screen up. Is this normal behaviour?

[Guest CodeWarrior]

Yes.

[Guest Jack Andrew :)]

Yes.

[Guest duncw]

Thanks guys B)

[Guest kendon]

how else would you want to wake the screen?

[Guest ptdborth]

how else would you want to wake the screen?

A lot of other droids wake by pressing one of the menu/home/back keys...Common request for the SF. Cheers. Paul

[Guest rjm2k]

When there has been no notification (SMS, missed call, email etc) then only the power button will wake the phone. When there has been a notification the Back button should flash and pressing the back button will wake the phone. Different people report different effects but this is how it works for mine.

[Guest oh!dougal]

When there has been no notification (SMS, missed call, email etc) then only the power button will wake the phone. When there has been a notification the Back button should flash and pressing the back button will wake the phone. Different people report different effects but this is how it works for mine.

But in a different thread ...

... If i miss a call or. Txt my back key flashes when the screen is off and in this state pressing the back key turns on the screen. I have flashnotify installed but not sure it changes things.

rjm2k, your phone ONLY works that way because of the App that you are running (FlashNotify), which does indeed alter the phone's standard behaviour.

Its a bit naughty to further confuse a confused n00b by your confusion between your app and the standard phone!

Especially when you don't even tell him that you are running this app.

That is a way to increase, not reduce, confusion!

Many people are confused by the SF's sleep behaviour.

It is complicated (there's a lot going on) but each part is VERY simple on its own.

First thing to understand is that the SF can EITHER screen-save (screen backlight off, touch sensitivity off) OR it can sleep 'properly' (which additionally switches off the wifi and other stuff like the notification led and power to the 'front' buttons).

You can ONLY wake the phone from proper sleep with the power button. For now, that is an absolute limitation, part of ZTE's design. That is the way it is (but we MIGHT just get ZTE to change something that would incidentally allow the front switches to be brought into play during proper sleep).

From screen-save you can wake it with the front buttons or the power button.

In both cases you wake to the same lock screen. (That confuses people because they think they have come from the same place, when they haven't.)

But when is it in 'proper sleep' and when is it just in 'screen-save'?

-- On usb power or charger, the phone NEVER sleeps - it just screen saves. So the front buttons wake it, the notification led works and (if you set it that way) wifi stays on.

-- Some software works to prevent sleep EVER. So it just screen-saves. Examples would be when playing music, or running MyLock. Leaving that software running, preventing the thing from sleeping, will flatten your battery rather quickly.

-- Some software (like the FlashNotify that rjm2k is running) causes the machine to wake up from sleep to screen-save (not a full wake) every few seconds to do its stuff, like flashing rjm2k's led if he has a missed call. That is why his buttons ONLY wake it while the led is on - because the rest of the time its in proper sleep and the buttons are dead, but while the led is on, its actually in screen-save (so at that time the buttons will work). This part-wake behaviour will flatten the battery slightly quicker than proper sleep, but not as fast as MyLock - and it will depend on things like how many notifications you get.

FlashNotify seems a perfectly reasonable workaround for a deficiency of the phone - but I want ZTE to fix the standard phone's deficiency (which would probably open the way to other buttons being enabled to wake the thing from proper sleep).

FlashNotify can generate sounds, light the screen, vibrate, etc according to the user's choice of setting.

This is not standard SF behaviour!

http://monkeyspannered.com/android-apps/flashnotify/

http://www.appbrain.com/app/flashnotify-fr...red.flashnotify

Edited November 19, 2010 by oh!dougal

[Guest rjm2k]

rjm2k, your phone ONLY works that way because of an App that you are running (FlashNotify), which alters the phone's standard behaviour.

Its a bit naughty to further confuse a confused n00b by your confusion between your app and the standard phone!

Especially when you don't even tell him that you are running this app.

That is a way to increase, not reduce, confusion!

Many people are confused by the SF's sleep behaviour.

It is complicated (there's a lot going on) but each part is VERY simple on its own.

First thing to understand is that the SF can EITHER screen-save (screen backlight off, touch sensitivity off) OR it can sleep 'properly' (which switches off the wifi and other stuff like the notification led and power to the 'front' buttons).

You can ONLY wake the phone from proper sleep with the power button. For now, that is an absolute limitation, part of ZTE's design. That is the way it is (but we MIGHT just get ZTE to change something that would incidentally allow the front switches to be brought into play during proper sleep).

From screen-save you can wake it with the front buttons or the power button.

In both cases you wake to the same lock screen. (That confuses people because they think they have come from the same place, when they haven't.)

But when is it in 'proper sleep' and when is it just in 'screen-save'?

-- On usb power or charger, the phone NEVER sleeps - it just screen saves. So the front buttons wake it, the notification led works and (if you set it that way) wifi stays on.

-- Some software works to prevent sleep EVER. So it just screen-saves. Examples would be when playing music, or running MyLock. Leaving that software running, preventing the thing from sleeping, will flatten your battery rather quickly.

-- Some software (like the FlashNotify that rjm2k is running) causes the machine to wake up from sleep to screen-save (not a full wake) every few seconds to do its stuff, like flashing rjm2k's led if he has a missed call. That is why his buttons ONLY wake it while the led is on - because the rest of the time its in proper sleep and the buttons are dead, but while the led is on, its actually in screen-save (so at that time the buttons will work). This part-wake behaviour will flatten the battery slightly quicker than proper sleep, but not as fast as MyLock - and it will depend on things like how many notifications you get.

FlashNotify seems a perfectly reasonable workaround for a deficiency of the phone - but I want ZTE to fix the standard phone's deficiency (which would probably open the way to other buttons being enabled to wake the thing from proper sleep).

Ok fair enough, tbh I've had flashnotify installe for so long (including my pulse before the sf) that I forget it's there and hadn't realised it altered the phones behaviour so much. any idea if it's the same in the 2.2 release?

[Guest Raspa]

I want ZTE to fix the standard phone's deficiency (which would probably open the way to other buttons being enabled to wake the thing from proper sleep).

I don't see it as a deficiency and I certainly don't want them to "fix" it. It seems like perfectly sensible, sane design. If my phone is asleep I expect (and want) to use the power button to wake it up. If it is simply in screensaver mode then it won't have been long since I last used it so I expect to be able to turn it on quickly via the front buttons.

The only part I would like fixed is that once you receive a message or whatever to trigger a notification then it should switch from sleep mode to screensaver mode. This way the notification light will work properly and I can quickly unlock the phone.

[Guest duncw]

Thanks oh!dougal for clearing that up!

[Guest oh!dougal]

I don't see it as a deficiency and I certainly don't want them to "fix" it. It seems like perfectly sensible, sane design. If my phone is asleep I expect (and want) to use the power button to wake it up. If it is simply in screensaver mode then it won't have been long since I last used it so I expect to be able to turn it on quickly via the front buttons.

The only part I would like fixed is that once you receive a message or whatever to trigger a notification then it should switch from sleep mode to screensaver mode. This way the notification light will work properly and I can quickly unlock the phone.

You misunderstand me.

Your idea would be nice, but maybe a step too far for ZTE.

The thing that I want "fixed" is simply to supply power to the notification led while in sleep.

Nothing more (in this area).

Its that simple, that trivial. (Unless, epic fail, it turns out to be a hardware limitation.)

Its 'standard android' that such notification is "persistent". Which I (and it seems, most users, including rjm2k) believe implies it should persist through sleep. The computer seems to be sending out the 'flash' instructions, but there's no power at the led.

I want the power restored to the led, so that the standard phone actually shows the flashes its 'sleeping' computer is ordering for missed calls, new sms, new email, etc -- even when its not connected to usb/charger.

If that is done, it is probable that it also, incidentally, would supply power to those front switches.

But - rest assured - that on its own would not cause them to wake the phone!

However, if the switches were 'awake', then editing the the 7k_handset.kl file should enable anyone that wanted a 'wake on front key' to enable it. Currently, editing the file has no effect -- because the keys aren't connected to the computer when its in 'proper' sleep.

[Guest goatee]

Why not install NoLed - it would be a power killer for the Blades with TFT screens, but as the San Fran has an OLED screen, it will have minimal power drain.

[Guest oh!dougal]

Why not install NoLed - it would be a power killer for the Blades with TFT screens, but as the San Fran has an OLED screen, it will have minimal power drain.

There are lots of custom notification Apps, which are going to all have to part-wake the phone.

My hope is to get ZTE to provide a fix for the standard phone.

[Guest Raspa]

You misunderstand me.

The thing that I want "fixed" is simply to supply power to the notification led while in sleep.

Ah - I certainly did misunderstand you. Yes, LED powered during sleep would be nice, if I can't have wake-on-radio activity.

Thanks for taking the time to explain, and sorry for any confusion I may have caused.

[Guest milkykung]

...EITHER screen-save (screen backlight off, touch sensitivity off) OR it can sleep 'properly' .....

...FlashNotify seems a perfectly reasonable workaround for a deficiency of the phone ....

Thank you so much for such a great and detailed explanation ^.^ That clears up my confusion as being Android newbie myself. I just noticed the missing notification behaviour and realised from you that it is a design flaw.

Here is my question and understanding: NoLED Vs FlashNotifier battery usage

NoLED lights up the whole screen with backlight and display icons. A number of options can be configured.

FlashNotifer can be configured to only light up the back button LED. Only SMS and missed calls for the free version.

Please correct me if I'm wrong at any point. They are both waking the phone from a "proper sleep" to "screen-save" mode but from my understanding, it seems like FlashNotifier (with only LED option) should saves more battery as the whole screen is still off B)

From this point of view, using FlashNotifier might be of advantage battery life-wise.

Cheers,

Edited November 19, 2010 by milkykung